Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Another awesome news is that Ryan's "X-Factor" #1 is sold out and is going in for a second printing! I read the issue a few weeks back and I thought that the story and the art were right on...the cover alone is "to die for"!

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Yesterday I started inking a drawing and was reminded that if I don't ink for a few weeks I "loose" it. I am trying to create an econimic line with certain vigor to it...hard to do when my skills are reduced to a baby level.

Monday, December 19, 2005

This is an earlier review of Robotika photocopies that I sent it before the book was colored/published. It is pretty much the same as the full review in #222, but I wanted to put this one up to have a complete listing of all the articles:

Friday, December 09, 2005

After the release of the first issue I have recieved a letter from someone who purchased Robotika and after reading it decided to write in and share his impression of the issue. It was a very articulate letter that contained some very kind words about the art work, storytelling, and story ideas...but one thing stood out as a "sore thumb": Cherokee Geisha's vertical text. In his opinion, the text slowed down the reading experience and made him leave the story.

I was thrilled to get the letter. It was awesome to hear from someone who read the book and felt inspired to write about it. That was very much appreciated. The vertical text is an interesting point and I wanted to say a few words about it.

English is my second language and I still remember the experience of trying to communicate with someone and how frustrating it was when I could not. I also remember how rewarding it was when finally I started "getting it", a whole new world opened up for me. Since than I have developed a huge appreciation of English (and it's American "cousin") as a beautiful language.

With Cherokee Geisha I wanted to create a character that other characters either could or could not understand (but somehow the reader would always beable to understand). I wanted the reader to realize that they are taking a very wonderful thing, English language and ability to communicate, for granted. "Yes", I did want the reader to work hard. "Yes", I did want the reader to have to "re-learn" how to read...because I wanted them to feel achievement at the end of that experience and an appreciation for something that they usually take for granted.

This was my first opportunity to verbalize my thoughts about the matter (other than talking to friends or to Mark about it), and I hope readers will understand what I am trying to do.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Robotika #1 went on sale last week on the East coast and this week it will be on sale through out the rest of the country. I just got the promotional copies that I need to sign (and get Ryan, who contributed the cover to issue #1, to co-sign)...it is pretty cool to see the book printed...in fact it is pretty amazing.

Also the second issue of Robotika (!) is solicited through Diamond Previews this month. Robotika #2 got a "Certified Cool" sticker with a half-page color ad and a write-up on page 222.

The same Previews issue is also soliciting another new title by Archaia Studios Press, "Mouse Guard" #1 by David Peterson. "Mouse Guard" got a Featured Item description on page 205, a two page interview with David on pages 220-221, and a write-up on page 223. The book looks beautiful and I can't wait to read it.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Lots of things got done over the weekend. First the fireplace is finaly done!Before:After:And I got to work on a ChainGang putting up a retaining wall for Frank's driveway.Here we all are (except Miss Lela, who is taking the photo):

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Thursday, November 03, 2005

This image was inspired by the image on my DVD cover of "Seven Samurai". The DVD image was just a group shot of the samurai looking into the distance. When I was sketching ideas for the issue #3 cover, I kept coming back to "group" shot...I have never done anything like this before, so this was an experiment.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

When I was penciling, I wanted the female character to look at Niko in a sort of a tender way. I liked the face, but there was something wrong with the shape of her head...and the neck looked way too thick. I figured I would fix it with ink.

By the time I got to the inking stage, I finished scripting the whole issue and I wanted to change the tender concern expression to more of a "what the heck is going on..?" expression and of course fix the tilt of the head and the neck.

In a way I still very much like the penciled face...I hope to be able to use it sometime later on in the story.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Fantastic Frank Cirocco making what will go down in history as the best rib BBQ dinner...ever!

From left to right: Fabulous Frank Cirocco, Luscious Lela Dowling, and Bodacious Barbara Barni somewhere in the woods.One of the highlites of the evening was seeing the almost completed layouts for Lela's artbook. The range of illustrations is awesome and I can't wait for the book to come out. My favorite section was the ABC chapter with individual color illustrations and clever one liners for every letter. Great stuff.

Rapturous Ryan Sook and the original NIKO THE SAMURAI! We spent the evening eating, laughing, and talking about the good things in life. Also I got to look at Ryan's originals...he has such elegance with storytelling and drawing. It feels like I just brute force my way through drawings, but Ryan always figures out a new way of depicting scenes...and he draws so well. Very inspirational, I can't wait to start drawing again!

Thursday, September 15, 2005

I have been inking pages for the last two months. I finished inking the second issue and inked the first half of the third issue. Yesterday, I ran out of pages to ink...so it is back to penciling. I feel "rusty" and it took me almost an hour to warm up before I could even start on a page. I guess that is the trouble with doing everything by myself. If I spend some real time doing the lettering, by the time I feel good about it I forget how to ink...if I spend a few weeks inking...I forget how to pencil. It is a never ending struggle.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Thursday, August 18, 2005

This is the title page to a 2-page-spread introducing the technology that make the world of Robotika possible. I wanted to have "The World of" in cursive script form to contrast with "Robotika", but by accident I ended-up with this, which I kind of like because it is readable, but at the same time very different.

Monday, August 15, 2005

This is something that I was very proud of at one time. In issue #2 a CEO of a company tries to explain to Niko how beneficial his company is to the country...later on in the same issue The Queen explains to Niko how beneficial her reign is to the (same) country. In both cases it is just propaganda (even though different words are used) and I wanted to make a connection between the two speeches. I tried to do it by giving the same gestures to the characters. I just inked The Queen's monologue and as I was finishing it up I realized that no one will make that connection. Bummer.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

This was another area I fixed as I started inking. Both Brian A. and Ryan S. gave me suggestions that resulted in this final version. My problem with the penciled drawing was that Niko's sword intersected The Queen's hand at an odd angle, almost blurring the foreground into the background. I believe this is a much easier picture to look at.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

This figure always bothered me. It looked very unnatural and awkward. As I started finishing the last few pages of issue #2 I tried to fix it with ink. The final version, while still a bit odd around the hand, I think looks much better.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Presented above are 3 samples of various pages colored by Joel Chua. I was very impressed by his color selections...especially since he worked without any color notes/guides. Mark was also very impressed. I believe Joel will be a great asset to the team and I can't wait to see the first colored issue.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

It is now official. "Robotika" will be a 4 issue series published in color by Archaia Studios Press. First issue will be released in December of 2005 and will feature a beautiful cover by Ryan Sook.

I got to met and talk to Brian Apthorp which was great. His work on Batman and Poison Ivy is something that I still refer to regularly. I also got a chance to talk to David Mack (who was very cool and "traded" me some Kabuki comics for the ashcan!), Brandon Peterson (who recognized my work from White Wolf), and Mark Schultz (who was way too nice and signed a copy of his sketchbook for me).

Mark Smylie (publisher and writer/artist of "Artesia") and I got a chance to talk about schedule, production, and color. So far everything looks good and I feel very fortunate to have found such a cool connection.

Sketchbook Sketches

And so it goes...

I am the writer and artist of "Robotika", and an illustrator of "Dark Crystal" comic books, both being published by Archaia Studios Press. This blog, "Moonstruck", is a record of my journey as I work on comics and learn, learn, learn...and learn. Hope you enjoy the pictures :)